A Legend
by silthara
Summary: Legends are born when one does something that others can not. Something that would either break or kill a normal person. This is the legend of a group of people who did what others could not and continued to do so. Welcome to a world where shields will lay shattered, weapons broken. Where friends stare down death and savor the sweet taste of it. This is their story. Their legend.
1. New Contenders

**Here goes something that I have had rattling around in my head for AGES since I heard the song "I May Fall" and came up with the idea that led to the eventual beginning of me writing this story. **

**I tend to write on the nights that I can't sleep so updates may be sporadic. Even if it's been a year, I eventually return to stories that I've begun. Until my external HD got corrupted and I lost everything, I had around 20 stories written out in Word that I had slowly been writing for years. Some parts of this may be a little hard for me to write while others will seemingly write themselves.**

**I just hope the people who decide to read this will enjoy it enough to leave a review and/or keep coming back.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY. RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth and Monty Oum.**

Ruby was exhausted. Not only had she spent a sizable amount of time looking for Blake, but she hadn't eaten a single cookie all day. Ruby was running on fumes. It didn't help that she had been blasted by Roman Torchwick. Her aches and pains from the blast faded fairly quickly, thanks to her aura protecting her. Ruby could feel her irritation starting to build. So, she shifted her thoughts to Sun, the guy that Blake had been with.

Sun seemed like he was a good person. He had helped Blake in the fight in the port against Torchwick and the White Fang. Blake didn't talk about him much but she seemed to trust him enough to fight with him at her side. This much, Ruby knew. She didn't get a chance to really talk to him much before he left her team at the hands of the police and the Beacon professors.

Ruby's thoughts shifted again. Professor Goodwitch was less than thrilled with team RWBY being wrapped up in a fight, against criminals no less. The Headmaster silently watched them with a smile on his face as Professor Goodwitch berated the team. Ruby had looked at him only once during the professor's lecture but he seemed to be proud of them for stopping the criminals.

Ruby rolled over and tried to make out Blake's sleeping form as her thoughts shifted towards Blake. Blake had said that she had left the White Fang because she couldn't agree with their methods any longer. Ruby found herself idly wondering what had changed Blake's mind on the White Fang's views. It was obvious to Ruby that Blake didn't hate humans. More than anything, Ruby was just thankful that Blake came back to the team.

Ruby's focus shifted to her sister sleeping in the bunk above Blake. Yang didn't ask Blake anything about her past. Most people would see that as Yang not caring but Ruby knew better. Yang was as concerned as Ruby was about Blake. However, Ruby knew Yang would wait for a bit to allow Blake time to adjust to her secret being known.

Ruby rolled on to her back and stared at the ceiling. Her thoughts just wouldn't stop flowing. It was as if they were like a train that she couldn't see an end to. They were an endless train of thoughts. It was an endless amount of thinking that kept her from falling asleep.

The quiet sound of a mattress creaking shook Ruby from her thoughts. When she rolled over to see who it was, she saw Weiss standing next to their bunk bed. Weiss was staring up at Ruby. Ruby leaned over the side of the bed and towards Weiss. "Did I wake you?", whispered Weiss as she glanced at her teammates. Ruby didn't want to wake them either so she merely shook my head. Weiss pointed to the door of their dorm and raised an eyebrow. Ruby nodded and quietly climbed down from her bunk.

The girls tiptoed their way to the door and quickly, quietly let themselves out. As Ruby shut the door and turned towards her team mate, Weiss was looking her in the eyes. What Weiss said chilled Ruby's bones and left her feeling slightly unnerved to the point that she subconsciously took a step backwards. "One day, your curiosity about things is going to get you killed." After that, Weiss turned away from Ruby and started walking towards the dorm bathrooms.

Ruby could only think of one thing at that moment. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. Weiss didn't stop walking as she replied to Ruby. "If you keep sticking your nose in other people's business AND their past, you are going to get badly burned by it." Weiss's voice carried a tone that Ruby had never heard her team mate use before. Ruby didn't respond and kept following her. Neither one said anything else the rest of the way to the bathroom.

When the two girls arrived, Weiss promptly went in to take care of business. Ruby stayed by the door and mulled over what Weiss had said to her. Ruby just couldn't place her finger on why Weiss's tone had bothered her. Ruby couldn't even guess at why she would say that much less why she felt that way. When Weiss exited the bathroom minutes later, Ruby still had no answers. Weiss stopped at the doorway of the bathroom and looked Ruby in the eyes again.

Weiss sighed as her shoulders drooped slightly before returning to her normal posture. "You just can't leave it alone, can you? You are such a dolt at times.", muttered Weiss as she shook her head. The look in her eyes and on her face was a look that Ruby hadn't ever seen her team mate make before. Weiss's voice didn't carry her usual tone of slight indifference or condescendence. She almost sounded sad. Ruby scratched the back of her head out of nervousness as she replied. "The way you said it, it had a bigger hook than a good cliffhanger in stories."

Weiss sighed again. "Let's just say…I overheard something that I couldn't believe. Just call it a…dark, horrible secret that brought me a heavy burden. It's all because I eavesdropped on a conversation out of curiosity." Without looking at Ruby or even waiting for her, Weiss headed back to the dorm. After a moment, Ruby followed Weiss back to the dorm.

The next week went by in a blur. Things seemed to return to normal for team RWBY. They went to their classes as if nothing happened. They ate their meals as they normally did, sitting with team JNPR. They talked with team JNPR in between classes. They studied notes and did their homework, Yang and Ruby sometimes needing help with their studies. They were about to be blind-sided and didn't even have a slight chance of seeing it coming.

Ruby could hear Yang talking with Phyrra while Nora was talking Ren's ear off as the two teams walked to their Combat Training class. Weiss and Blake were listening to the conversations. Ruby could see Jaune staring off at the scenery outside the windows. "I'm just saying that it would be nice to fight people from other classes.", said Yang as she explained her view to Phyrra. Phyrra had a logical response of her own waiting for Yang.

"If we constantly fight new opponents, then we have nothing to gauge our growth in skill and ability against.", said Phyrra as she wore a slight smile on her face. Ruby could see that Phyrra had Yang beat in this debate. Yang opened her mouth and then shut it a time or two before admitting her defeat. "I guess. I just want a new opponent or two." Yang was quiet the rest of the way to class.

Glynda Goodwitch dropped a bomb on the two teams during her Combat Training class. Glynda cleared her throat before speaking. "Students, I have an important announcement to make. This announcement will impact all of you. For the next month, each of you will be sparring against students in their fourth year at Beacon. These training sessions will commence as a tournament style duel of one team of first year students against a single fourth year student. Aura usage will be allowed but, as always, no firearms or dust of any kind may be used." Ruby could hear her friends and the other students murmuring about what this could mean but Glynda put an end to that before rumors could even start going around the class.

"Each of the students your teams will face is in the top of their year. Also, many of them are leaders of their own teams. They are powerful, focused, and highly skilled hunters and huntresses who will undoubtedly graduate this year." Glynda paused again. Ruby snuck a look at her friends.

Ruby could see Phyrra covering her face with one hand as she quietly groaned. Ruby also couldn't help but notice as Jaune slouched and groaned in a quiet manner like Phyrra did. Nora and Ren only exchanged a glance before smiling at each other. Blake and Weiss looked completely caught off guard by the news. Even Ruby was feeling slightly nervous about fighting a fourth year student. Yang looked like she was starting to get excited.

"This change to the Combat Training class will occur more than 'just a few times'. It will be to gauge how much your team has improved in between each time this change occurs. This exercise is also to provide the fourth year students with another means of sharpening their skills. It will also help each of you realize your limits." Glynda paused for a moment again.

Yang couldn't hold it back any more. "So, we'll be fighting against really strong people?", asked a hopeful Yang. Glynda merely nodded in confirmation. Yang jumped and pumped her fist in the air. "Yah! Finally! We get to fight new people!"

Glynda coughed and spoke up. "I should inform you, Ms. Xaio Long, that several of the fourth year students are able to force the occurrence of a draw between my colleagues and themselves." Now, Ruby was starting to feel really nervous. Even Yang looked like she was suddenly having second thoughts about wanting to do this.

Then, Ruby heard a voice that she wasn't expecting to hear. "So, if these training battles are going to be with five people…then, isn't the stage a little small for this?" Ruby found the source of the question to be Jaune. Glynda nodded. "That is correct. "

The professor merely smiled. "The area you are standing is where these battles will take place. Those not fighting will be on the stage.", said Glynda with a wry smile that added a little more fuel to her students nervousness. At that time, a voice called out behind Ruby. "Sorry we're late Professor Goodwitch. We had to find a few Nevermore in the forest." When Ruby turned around, she saw a group of four people walking towards the class. She didn't know which one had spoken.

Ruby glanced back at the professor. She wasn't sure but her professor seemed to anticipate the group being late. Ruby turned back to the new group. A young woman wearing blue jeans and a white shirt with a flame design on it spoke up. Her hair was a dark reddish black. She carried a pair of swords at her side and was the one who apologized earlier. "Professor Griffon gave us an assignment. Each of us had to find a Nevermore or Deathstalker and take it down alone. It didn't help that we had to have another team watch as witnesses."

This got a reaction from everyone, including Ruby. Ruby could only wonder how they managed to do it. It took the full cooperation of her team to bring down a single Nevermore. As Ruby studied each of the newcomers, she could see signs of fighting on their clothing and armor.

Yang was the first to comment. "Geez, fight a Nevermore? Alone?" Phyrra shrugged her shoulders as she spoke up. "I have heard that Beacon does have an odd professor or two that gives strange, tough assignments." Yang walked towards her professor and called out to her. Everyone but Ruby had their eyes on Yang. "So Professor, who gets to fight first?", said Yang with a mischievous smile as she clenched her hands in anticipation, her earlier apprehension gone.

"Who gets to fight first?", said one of the newcomers, echoing Yang's question. Ruby could see he had black hair that was kept short. The group parted as he walked toward us. Ruby could see he wore only a black shirt and jeans with a pair of knuckledusters. "I'll go first.", said the young man with confidence as he took a fighting stance. His voice had a low, gravelly feel to it. "Oh~. A fist fighter? I could have fun fighting you.", said Yang with a grin as she brought out Ember Celica.

Ruby glanced at Weiss and Blake. "Good grief.", muttered Weiss to nobody. Blake smiled and drew Gambol Shroud and its sheath. "It seems Yang volunteered us to go first.", said a not too happy Blake. Weiss sighed and drew Myrtenaster. "She didn't even consider us.", complained Weiss. Ruby drew Crescent Rose, shifted it to scythe form, and hung it over her shoulder. "Team RWBY, let's go.", said Ruby as she sized up her opponent. She could hear everyone else behind her moving towards the stage to avoid being drawn into battle.

Team RWBY watched the young man as he smiled. "Belthasar Braddon. Semblance? Force." Each of the four girls glanced at each other for a moment. They introduced themselves but didn't mention their semblances. "No semblance mentioning? Don't be so cold girls. It won't make a difference in who's going to win.", said Belthasar with a shrug before returning to his fighting stance.

Yang bristled, falling for the mental trap. "You want to talk or fight?", said Ruby as she took her own stance. Belthasar smiled and threw one hand behind him. A blast of white light immediately followed, sending him rocketing towards the girls. When he got close, Ruby realized his target was Yang. She saw a flash of white as her sister guarded the attack. It still blew Yang backwards. The rest of team RWBY didn't stand a chance.

Weiss promptly got a follow-up one-two combo with the second hit giving off that same flash of light. During that, Blake swung Gambol Shroud at him with the sheath being used to parry a punch from Belthasar. Ruby used her semblance of speed to slip behind him. She saw Blake's next attack get parried before she was thrown back with that same flash of white light.

At that point, Yang had gotten back into the fray. Belthasar and Yang had a cross counter moment. Ruby brought the back end of Crescent Rose down on his shoulder. I heard Belthasar grunt as he bore the attack. Immediately after, Ruby saw Belthasar grab her sweetheart near the base of the crescent blade as he grabbed Yang's arm. He slammed Ruby and Yang into each other.

As Ruby tried to recover from the world swirling in strange ways, she saw a white light coming from Belthasar. It wasn't meant for her or Yang. Blake and Weiss had entered the fray again, trying to attack from Belthasar's now open flanks but it was only for a moment. Weiss had apparently used her glyphs to propel them immediately back into the battle. Ruby struggled to regain her balance from the heavy blow she had taken as her friends were blown backwards. Then, Ruby heard a voice.

"Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna are eliminated." The voice belonged to Glynda Goodwitch. Yang flared with her semblance as she charged forward at Belthasar with a flurry of blows and sent him on the defensive as he parried each of them. Ruby glanced at the giant screen that tracked their auras. Belthasar, Yang, and Ruby were all in the yellow. Blake and Weiss were in the red. Then, Ruby saw a white flash in the corner of her eye and Yang's aura dropped into the red.

"Yang Xaio Long is eliminated." Ruby looked at the one who would likely defeat her team. Belthasar eyed Ruby up and down as he maintained his stance. He had a smug look on his face. Ruby saw that he felt that his victory was already won. Ruby was the only one left. Ruby used her semblance to charge straight at him. Ruby never guessed he saw the attack coming.

Ruby planted the back end of Crescent Rose into his stomach but he didn't get sent flying, the unanticipated reaction catching her off guard. Belthasar grabbed the handle and tried to throw Ruby, using her weapon against her, but Ruby had already let go of her sweetheart. Belthasar only succeeded in throwing the scythe to the side. Using her semblance, Ruby immediately reclaimed her 'baby' from the ground, followed by a mental apology to her beloved weapon.

That was when Ruby saw Belthasar sizing her up in a serious manner. He knew Ruby wouldn't go down without a serious fight, not after how he eliminated her teammates. Ruby glanced at the giant screen and saw that both of their auras were close to the red. The two of them knew the next exchange would be the last.

When Ruby disappeared from Belthasar's sight, his whole body immediately started glowing with white light. As Ruby got close to his left flank, her vision exploded into white and she felt her body go weightless for a moment before she hit the ground. "Ruby Rose is eliminated." Ruby heard her professor announce her defeat as she sat up. Ruby was greeted by the sight of Belthasar offering her a hand and she took it.

It wasn't until Ruby stood next to him that she realized just how tall he was. He stood a bit taller than Yang but not by much. "A clear lack of tactics and strategy costed you this fight.", said Belthasar, his gaze and tone of voice being cold and harsh as he continued. "When fighting something you know nothing about, a defensive role is the best solution. Learn about your opponent and THEN defeat them."

Ruby saw the other fourth year students walking towards them with her team in tow. When the two groups met up, they headed for the stage. The red-headed woman in the white shirt with a flame design and jeans playfully punched Belthasar in the arm. "You just couldn't give them a single chance, could you?", she said with a laugh. "Well, Sildra, I saw openings and I took them. They're strong but uncoordinated.", replied Belthasar with a look of mild annoyance. Yang walked up to her sister.

"You made short work of them, idiot." The one who insulted Belthasar was a young man with dusty brown hair. He wore a plain black sleeveless shirt with blue jean shorts. Belthasar dismissed the man with a wave of his hand. "Janis, I hate losing. You know this.", said Belthasar as he turned to face the man he called Janis. Yang piped up with her own retort. "If we could use ammo, it would have been a landslide victory for us.", said Yang with confidence.

Belthasar shook his head. "That wouldn't make up for the lack of team work. The only one who was a true threat is this cute girl next to me.", said Belthasar as he looked at Ruby. Using her semblance, Ruby slipped behind Yang and hid behind her sister. "Yang, help!", squeaked Ruby from behind Yang. Belthasar only laughed. "And with that, he's been shot down again.", said Sildra with a shrug of her shoulders.

It was then that Ruby noticed one of the fourth year students was intensely eyeing her scythe. Ruby was taken aback by the woman's intense star. The woman had green hair that was pulled back in a short pony tail, wore short black shorts, and a plain black sleeveless tank top that was tight on her, revealing her curves. "Ca-can I help you?", said Ruby, unsure of what to make of this newfound attention.

"Don't mind Flora. She's just a weapon geek.", said Sildra as she tried to haul the curvy Flora away from Ruby. Almost immediately, Flora broke free and started gushing over Ruby's scythe. "I can't believe it! It's a high caliber sniper scythe! Custom scythes are so COOL!", squealed Flora with excitement. As the group neared the stage, Ruby switched her scythe to its compact travel form and clipped it to the back of her belt.

This caused Flora to get even more excited as the group climbed onto the stage. "It can even collapse into a more storable form!" The whole class cringed at the high pitch of Flora's voice. "You have got to tell me where this amazing weapon is from!", said Flora as she grabbed both of Ruby's hands with her own, excited beyond belief. Ruby laughed nervously.

"I-I designed and built it myself while studying at Signal Academy.", said Ruby nervously, hoping the information wouldn't cause another high-pitched outburst from the new admirer of her handiwork. Flora just stood slack-jawed for a moment before she found her voice. "That is just too cool…", she whispered.

"Sildra, you are next in line to fight.", said Glynda without looking up from the screen in her hands. With a touch on the screen, the students saw team RWBY's portraits go blank. Then, the screen began to quickly cycle through team names of the class in a seemingly random way until it stopped on team JNPR. Ruby saw Jaune slouch, his head hanging low as he gave an audible groan. Ruby heard Nora's excited squeal pierce her eardrums in a manner similar to Flora's voice.

"Awesome! Think we'll see Sildra cut loose?", squealed Flora as she clasped her hands behind her as her question went unanswered. "Mr. Arc, you don't seem to be pleased with this development.", stated Glynda with a raised eyebrow. Flora chimed in her two lien. "Well Professor, maybe even the first years have heard the rumors about her." This made every first year student look at Flora.

Flora stared back at them. "What? None of you even know her reputation?!", asked Flora in dismay. Sildra stepped forward, raised her hand, and coughed into it. "I have never lost a match. Professor, what is my record at after the last few weeks?" Glynda quickly pulled up her student's records and smiled. She knew her class would not believe it when she would announce it. "Over your time in Beacon, you have amassed an impressive seven hundred and sixty-two consecutive wins, no losses, and no draws."

This news caused Jaune to slouch even further. It even took the wind out of Nora's sails. Sildra could only smile. "My goal before graduation is one thousand wins and no losses OR draws.", said a very confident Sildra as she hopped off the stage. Sildra looked back at her soon-to-be opponents. "Come on kids. Let's get this over with.", said Sildra as she motioned for them to come forward.

Team JNPR slowly moved towards the edge of the stage. Ruby watched her friends as they hopped down, drew their weapons, and took their stances. Ruby saw Flora shaking her head. Ruby shot her peer a questioning look that Flora immediately caught. "They don't stand a chance.", said a sad Flora.

Ruby was taken aback by Flora's matter-of-fact statement. "What do you mean?", asked Ruby in a quizzical tone of voice. Belthasar decided to join the conversation and toss his two lien as well. "Look at Sildra. She's completely relaxed as she is sizing up her opponents. As experienced as she is, she can tell in a glance that she will win."

Belthasar pointed at Jaune as he continued on. "That kid's stance is weak compared to the other girl with a shield." Flora pointed at Ren. "He looks calm but I can tell he's really nervous about fighting Sildra." Ruby looked at her friends and she could see Jaune's stance was fairly weak but she couldn't see what they saw in Ren.

"Both of the girls are wary, with good reason. Sildra is a beast of an opponent even when she's not serious.", stated Flora in the same matter-of-fact tone she had used moments ago. "Comparing that shield user's stance to the boy's, it's similar to his but it's much more solid. She won't topple easily under a rain of blows.", murmured Belthasar as he and Flora proceeded to size up all of team JNPR.

Sildra closed her eyes as she began to glow with a black aura around her. Team JNPR watched in fascination and apprehension as Sildra's shadow split into three shadows that rose up from the ground and took an exact likeness to Sildra. "My semblance: Doppelganger. Doppelgangers feel no pain, so don't hold back.", said all four of the Sildras with a smirk. All four drew their dual swords and started walking towards team JNPR.

Ruby watched in awe at the semblance she was seeing. "She's starting off with her semblance? I didn't see that coming.", murmured Belthasar. Flora stood completely still, intent on not missing a moment of her friend's battle. Much to Flora's disappointment, the battle ended in about five minutes. Team JNPR didn't stand a chance under the quick and precise onslaught of Sildra's caliber.

It was a series of quick, brutal movements. All four Sildras moved quickly in unison as they forced each member of team JNPR in singles style combat. Ruby watched Jaune as he tried to keep up with his shield against the quick flashes of Sildra's blades. It only took a few attacks before one of the blades slipped past Jaune's shield. The flat side of the sword easily pushed aside Jaune's shield and slammed into his left shoulder, causing the boy to cry out in pain as his stance was nearly toppled by the quick attack.

Ruby glanced at the big screen and saw Jaune's aura had dropped by a decent amount. "Red, if you're wondering why she's only playing with them, it's because she uses her semblance mainly for training. The use of her semblance splits the strength of her aura equally between herself and her shadows.", said Belthasar as his gaze never left the battle playing out before him. "Each shadow shares their learned knowledge when they return to being a part of her. Thus, it's the main method she uses for training herself and others.", continued Belthasar as Ruby heard her professor announce Nora's defeat at the same time.

Ren was the next to be defeated under the heavy, precise attacks that picked apart his defense. With each member of team JNPR that was defeated, one of the Sildra shadows merely joined with another shadow in combat against the remaining members. Ruby watched in fascination as she realized that Jaune had gotten a fair bit better from the last time she had seen him fight. With every blow blocked by his shield or taken aside by his sword, it seemed as if Jaune's stance and guard were slightly improving.

"It seems Sildra likes them.", said Belthasar with a laugh. Yang piped up next to him. "What do you mean?", she asked. Belthasar smiled as he responded. "Sildra would have ended it by now. She's got their defenses completely figured out and is just chipping away at their auras, hoping they learn something." Yang folded her arms under her ample chest with a confused look on her face. "So, she's just trying to show them where they have openings?", asked the blonde.

Belthasar's smile grew a little when Phyrra was eliminated. "It's four against one, blonde boy. Let's see what you do now.", whispered Flora as she continued to watch with an intense look to her eyes. Jaune held up longer than anyone expected. Nobody could tell which one was Sildra but her skill was evident in how she kept Jaune entirely on the defensive.

Then, something happened. Jaune caught a blade aimed at his back with his shield. Jaune decided to attack. He stepped forward and brought his shield around to catch another blade coming from his left as his sword intercepted and parried a blade from his right. He barely saw the speedy lunging stab coming at him from the front. He semi-wildly swung his shield from left to right and knocked aside the blade, his sword barely parrying another blade due to his awkward stance.

Jaune slammed his shield straight into what he thought was one of the shadows of Sildra. From the cry of pain and surprise, he realized he had hit the real Sildra as he quickly spun around to face the shadows. If not for his own surprise, the battle would likely have gone on longer but the three shadows didn't budge an inch in their attacks. The battle ended with that exchange as all three shadows converged on him. Even though the blows weren't strong in force, Jaune collapsed out of bodily exhaustion from fighting for about five minutes straight against an opponent who tested him further and further with every exchange.

Belthasar gave a quiet whistle as he shook his head. Flora was slack jawed for a moment before she found her voice. "He actually hit her. Even I have trouble doing that.", muttered Flora in dismay at a first year student doing something she apparently had trouble doing. "Shields divide the work of offense and defense. It's such an effective method of defense that even law enforcement personnel use shields to protect themselves during civil unrest. Despite that, many hunters and huntresses opt for a different style of fighting. ", said Belthasar to nobody in particular.

Glynda eyed Jaune up and down. It was apparent to her that he had gotten better but she knew he wasn't ready for Beacon's level of training. Now, she was sure he had been receiving training from someone outside of her class and there was only one person that it could be due to how similar their combat methods were. Glynda watched as Jaune's friends huddled around him, asking if he was hurt anywhere. Despite his team losing, Jaune had a content smile on his face as he assured his friends that he was only worn out.

Belthasar moved next to Glynda. "He's really rough around the edges but he's got potential, more than he realizes. Think you can give him a boost of confidence? A lack of faith in himself seems to be his biggest weakness.", whispered Belthasar as he watched Jaune slowly stand up with the help of his friends. Glynda didn't respond to him as she walked forward.

"Mr. Arc, I very seldom give compliments to any of my students. However, this one, you have earned. Belthasar, Flora, Sildra's shadows, and a very small number of others are the only ones who have ever landed a solid attack on Sildra. Sildra's ability to perceive and react accordingly to her attacker is great indeed.", said Glynda very slowly as she watched the words sink into her student.

Jaune immediately felt several hands on his shoulders and back as his friends echoed their professor's compliment. Jaune slowly processed what his professor had actually really meant. She had told him he was better than he thought he was and that even she acknowledged his abilities this one time. A professor at the prestigious Beacon Academy that trained only the best of the potential hunters and huntresses had acknowledged him, Jaune D'Arc. Jaune felt a mix of soul-crushing regret for using false papers to enter the school and extreme hope that he may actually be able to attain his desire to become a hero with the help of his teammate, Phyrra.

The rest of the classes went by in a blur and before the two teams realized it, even dinner had come and gone. Just as quickly, the evening time had faded into the early hours of nighttime. Before team RWBY knew it, it was already time for bed. Ruby had heard her teammates, Blake and Yang, fall asleep as she lay curled up in her bed, studying her notes to help her with doing her homework.

She could see Weiss sitting at the table, only illuminated by candlelight. There were open books strewn out all across the table as Weiss poured over different books at different times for references on one subject or another. Ruby gathered up her homework and her book before quietly hopping down from her bunk bed. Weiss only glanced up at her as she set her homework out on a tiny section of the table that was clear of Weiss's papers and books.

"I can't help you study tonight, Ruby. I have a paper due soon on advanced Dust Mechanics.", whispered Weiss. Without even looking at Ruby, she knew her partner understood. "That's fine. I just felt the table would be better instead of a comfy bed.", whispered Ruby as she began on her homework again.

Weiss set her pen down and looked up at Ruby, catching her partner's hint. "Cream and five sugars, right?", whispered Weiss as she stood up. Ruby didn't look up or stop writing as she nodded in affirmation. Weiss stood up and, without saying anything further, left the room. Ruby felt a warm feeling in her heart that made her smile, despite being exhausted from her fight earlier in the day. "Normal knees…", she thought to herself as she kept at her homework. It was a thought she had every time her and Weiss did homework together like this.

**And that's the first chapter. I hope that you, the readers, have enjoyed the chapter. :) When I reference something canon, I either refer to the RWBY wiki or, in the case of how Ruby likes her coffee, I refer to the episodes. Why? I like to be close to the original while still doing my own thing. :) It...lends a sense of the believable to the story, in my opinion. **

**I know Ruby doesn't seem like the type to let her thoughts wander like they do at the beginning but she struck me as the type of person who would take Ozpin's advice very seriously about being a leader. I AM, however, semi-influenced by other writers who have written Ruby as having an unhealthy obsession with eating cookies.**

**As for Jaune suddenly "being good enough" to land a single blow on a huntress-in-training like Sildra, even the best fighters can't always keep an opening from being there. Also, I feel Jaune is better than what we've seen so far. Probably not by much but given that Phyrra has a similar fighting style of sword/spear and shield, I do expect Jaune to be at least a decent fighter by the end of his first year at Beacon. Probably not good enough to have been accepted into Beacon but still good enough to hold his own in a small encounter of around 5-10 Grimm. Now, 20+ Grimm? I would expect him to get hurt badly, if not outright killed. His team can only watch his back so much in a fight where their lives are on the line...**

**If you see a misspelled word(hard to believe but spell check and I don't always catch them) or a word(like there/their/they're) used improperly, please mention it in a review so that I can fix it. In my opinion, proper grammar and spelling makes it much easier for readers to enjoy a story. Not to mention that it makes it easier to read and understand.**

**Random author comment:Word has some messed up concepts of line breaks, tabs, and formatting. I miss the days of when I used a word processor where everything was in nice little menus that led to a single window where you could easily setup the entire spacing and layout of a document in less than a minute. Now, with this Word Processor from Windows 7, I'm lost! :)**


	2. Messages and Plans

**First chapter was LONG~! It wasn't until I uploaded it that I realized that it was over 6,000 words long. .; This chapter topped out at just over 6,700 words. Ouch. Two huge chapters back to back. Oh well. I have trouble finding good stopping points anyways so I guess large chapters just suit me?**

**Story Questions:**

**How will Belthasar and his team affect things? How will they personally impact the main characters? We've seen Belthasar's semblance of emitting raw force and Sildra's Shadow semblance but what can Janis and Flora do? What are their weapons like? How are the weapons used?**

**As always, I hope that my readers enjoy the story to review and/or come back. :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY. RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth and Monty Oum.**

**EDIT: Changed a few minor things. After realizing a few other minor writing mistakes, I went back and changed a few words. The most notable being Yang's motorcycle. Here' a shout out to AnonymousARK for correcting me on the name of Yang's motorcycle, Bumblebee. XD**

**I really do want to hear what my readers think of A Legend. Over 400 views and only 1 review doesn't exactly inspire me to have confidence in what I write. It doesn't help me get better at writing either. Granted, the last time I was taught writing skills was over a decade ago...but I digress, I really do want to hear what my readers think about my writing and where they think I'm going with things.**

* * *

The remainder of the week went by relatively quickly for Ruby and her team. Combat Training was more difficult than she was used to due to the change that her professor made to their training battles. Though Ruby would never admit it, difficult was an understatement. Belthasar and his team were pushing the class to the extreme during the training battles. Each time various teams fought him or a team member, the team would be beaten. Ruby could see that some teams were starting to work together to tackle the challenge of tougher and much more experienced opponents. Much to Ruby's unhappiness, she was about to learn that the same couldn't be said about her own team.

This time, Flora was been team RWBY's opponent. Ruby eyed the curvy young woman up and down, taking note that she had a pair of swords at her side. Flora was absolutely giddy at getting to fight Ruby and her team. "I've been wanting to fight the four of you since I first saw you!", squealed Flora in that same pitch that made everyone cringe when they're around the hyper woman. "Are you going to thrash us like that arrogant jackass did?", growled Yang as she brought forth Ember Celica.

"Oh come on! He's not that bad.", replied Flora as she giggled in amusement at Yang's comment. With that, Flora drew her swords. Ruby immediately noticed that there were lines riddling the blade. "Those lines, can it separate and double as a whip?", Ruby asked herself. Ruby also noticed the complete and total lack of a blade guard at the top of the hilt. She had been beaten once by underestimating a fourth year student and she was determined not to make the same mistake again.

Flora noticed how intently Ruby was looking over her weapons and beamed with happiness. "Her swords look like they separate but the lack of a guard on her swords bothers me.", said Ruby. Yang tightened down her stance a little, trying to be ready for anything. "The hilt is too small for a retraction mechanism though.", observed Blake as she shifted to a defensive stance with Gambol Shroud. Flora took her stance and smiled wide at the observations that her opponents were making. Their battle with Belthasar had made them a little more cautious of new opponents.

"That's because one blade is something I designed for training and using my semblance, telekinesis.", said Flora in a dead-pan voice, her brown eyes now bearing an intense look. The team knew the time for talk was over. Blake was the only one who heard the almost inaudible 'clink' that the blades made as the locking mechanism that held the sword together was released. Everyone else only saw one blade fall apart, the pieces landing at Flora's feet. Each piece had the shape as an arrow head.

When Flora and the sword pieces began to glow green, the pieces floated into the air on their own. "Oh for the love of-", said Weiss as she began to complain but she was promptly cut off when a blade piece shot towards her. Weiss immediately deflected it with Myrtenaster in Blake's direction. Only, the blade piece didn't hit the ground. It shot immediately towards Blake. Blake instinctively leaned to side at the last second before it struck her. "Well, this isn't going to go well. I count ten pieces, including the one Weiss deflected.", commented Blake as she returned to her defensive stance.

"Yep, I can be a medium or short range fighter. With Lilium, I can fight at mid-range and Elfin Lied is for short range.", chimed Flora with a little happiness, happy because her opponents were able to follow her experiment of their reaction abilities. Then, Ruby felt something tap her on the top of her head. The sudden sensation caused her to jerk backwards, a blade piece falling to the ground in front of her. "Wow, I can't believe that worked against you.", said a sad Flora as the blade piece that fell off of Ruby began to float and return to Flora's side.

"Wha-when did that get there?!", exclaimed a very surprised Ruby. Blake's eyes went wide as she began to realize that Flora didn't have the normal limits on attacking or attack movements that normal opponents would have. "You can attack us from any angle and I do mean ANY angle, correct?", asked Blake. Flora opened her mouth to respond but stopped when Blake faded into an afterimage.

Ruby saw Flora's eyes go unfocused for a moment before the intensity returned to Flora's eyes. Immediately, Flora raised the sword she called Elfin Lied to her right and took a defensive stance as Blake appeared and swung both parts of Gambol Shroud in a left-to-right downward arc. Yang watched for an opening but realized there would be very few openings against Flora. Ruby and Weiss realized the same thing when they saw a blade piece dart towards Blake.

Blake, being occupied by her offensive attack, couldn't defend against the single blade piece as it slammed into her stomach with a force about on the same level as being punched by someone. At least, that's what Flora was expecting. Blake immediately turned into an afterimage as the blade piece darted right through it. Blake reappeared next to her teammates. "She saw it coming.", Blake as she retook her defensive stance.

"What are you talking about? I could sense you coming from a mile away.", retorted Flora as the entirety of the blade pieces swirled around her, almost forming a shield between her and team RWBY. "If you want to stand a chance against a stronger and more experienced opponent, you have to work together.", advised Flora as her eyes turned to Yang. With that piece of advice, the time for experiments was over and the true battle started. It was advice that seemingly went unheeded as a long battle took place.

When the proverbial dust had settled and Flora had won, Ruby could see that her peer wasn't happy with them. "I told you. Working together is the only way you'll win a single battle against us.", said a seemingly very sad Flora as she reassembled her sword pieces to the hilt with her semblance. Weiss staggered to her feet as exhaustion riddled her body. The heiress was not happy. "You took it easy on us.", accused Weiss as she tried to regain her sense of balance.

"Of course I did. How are any of you expected to learn anything if I were to defeat you in a flash?", replied Flora as she began to explain her method to Weiss. "By dragging out the battle and trying to force the four of you into working together, I wanted each of you to see and feel how much easier it is when you combine your strengths and cover each other's weaknesses.", continued Flora. Weiss and Flora reached the stage and the rest of team RWBY who were nursing bruises that started as blade imprints.

"Who is your team leader?", asked Flora as she eyed each member of team RWBY. Ruby looked up as she continued to rub a bruise on her chest, with the help of her cloak keeping the motion from being seen by anyone. "I am.", responded Ruby in a pained voice. Flora's brown eyes immediately locked onto Ruby's silver eyes. "As team leader, yet again, you have failed to rally your team towards working together.", spoke Flora in a cold tone as the intensity of her stare left Ruby feeling like she was about to pierced by the gaze.

Ruby couldn't maintain eye contact. She knew Flora was right. Knowing that Flora was right only seemed to make her bruises hurt that much more. "She's right. We can't keep fighting like this.", thought Ruby as she got up from the corner of the stage where she had been sitting down. Ruby felt every bruise in her body protest the movement. While her aura had taken the brunt of the attacks, the attacks themselves had still managed to leave a lasting effect on her body. Ruby knew that her bruises were a testament to the strength of Flora's aura.

So, Ruby found herself wandering the stone paths in the front courtyard of the academy. It was the evening time just after dinner and she was using her free time to think. "How can I could try to draw my team together?", thought Ruby as she wandered aimlessly. Ruby stopped walking as she remembered something. "How did I even get them to follow my plan against that Nevermore?", she asked herself.

A rapid series of thoughts fired off through her brain. "Have…I even tried to pull them together? Have I even given them a reason to fight together? I'm sure we could if we tried but how can I pull us together?" Ruby's brain was working overtime and it was beginning to give her a headache.

"Well, if it isn't Red.", spoke up a voice she had come to recognize as Belthasar. Ruby almost didn't hear him over her headphones. She took off the headphones as she looked around and saw Belthasar sitting on a bench next to her. "Wow, if he was a Grimm, I'd be dead.", thought Ruby as she walked up to the young man, his black hair obscuring part of his eyes.

"The name is Ruby, not Red.", quipped Ruby as she took a seat near the edge of the bench. "Well, Ruby, you looked lost in thought. Care to share your thoughts?", asked Belthasar in a neutral tone as he scooted a little closer to Ruby. Ruby instinctively scooted a little further away from him as she looked at the ground. Belthasar leaned back as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his jeans.

"Come on, I don't bite kid.", said Belthasar as he rummaged around in his pocket for a lighter. When he found it, he lit his cigarette and took a puff, inhaling the smoke. Ruby couldn't help but cough when the smoke when drift near her. "What? Seventeen and you never tried smoking?", asked a curious Belthasar. Ruby shook her head. "I-I'm not seventeen.", said the young girl as Belthasar started to take another puff. "I'm fifteen.", muttered Ruby.

Belthasar fell into a coughing fit from the revelation. When he could finally breathe again, he spoke. "You're only fifteen? What the hell are you doing at Beacon? Shouldn't you be at Signal or somewhere?" His rapid, blunt questions caught Ruby off-guard. "W-well…a few things happened and I-I got moved ahead. By two years.", stammered Ruby as she glanced around for something to look at instead of Belthasar. She was rather unsure of how to respond to her peer's questions but did her best.

Belthasar took another puff from his cigarette as he listened to Ruby. "Wow, I had no idea you really were still just a kid." His comment irked Ruby. "I'm not a kid! I'm practically all grown up.", she exclaimed. As she glared at him, she crossed her arms in defiance of his label for her. She held her head up high, her eyes locked with Belthasar's eyes. "After all, I drink milk.", she said in a rather offended tone. This only earned a laugh from Belthasar as he finished his cigarette and put it out.

"Ruby, part of growing up is the different experiences we pick up from living our lives. My experiences tell me that you are the socially awkward type, especially around people you don't know.", said Belthasar in a blunt, honest manner with an increasingly neutral tone. Ruby slouched a little, her arms no longer crossed. "You really don't hold back, huh?", she asked as she intently stared at her combat boots, unable to make eye contact. "So tell me, what's your problem about?", asked Belthasar for the second time. Ruby took a deep breath and sighed. "You were right. My team has no coordination. We worked together to kill a Nevermore during the initiation but…" Ruby trailed off as she tried to find the words to describe her problem.

"You haven't worked together since then, have you?" Belthasar's question was on the mark, causing Ruby to slouch that much more. "Yep. I feel like I'm failing my team by not having a solution. I'm a leader now. I can't be a failure or I'll drag them down." Ruby spoke with a hushed, quiet tone of slight depression and worry mixed together as she lifted her head to look at the man she shared her plight with. Ruby nervously fiddled with the edge of her combat skirt as she looked at him.

Belthasar leaned back against the bench and stared at the sky, clearly thinking about how to respond. After a moment passed, he began to speak. "Teammates have to trust each other to watch their backs. Each member has to know how the others fight so they know what to expect. YOU have to coordinate and lead them, using their strengths to cover everyone's weaknesses as much as possible. At the same time, you have to listen to feedback from your teammates."

Ruby blinked a few times. "How do I do that? I'm at a loss here.", said Ruby as her frustration was starting to build up. Belthasar looked at the girl next to him. A plan was beginning to form in his mind as he smiled. He formed a mental checklist of everything that he would need to help the poor girl solve her problem. He only needed one thing to be confirmed before he could start helping her. "You think you can pull your team together for training on a weekend?", asked Belthasar with a slightly mischievous smile.

* * *

Blake had reading in the library when she felt her collapsible scroll vibrate. It was a feature she frequently made use of in the library to avoid disturbing those around her. Blake put her marker where she had just finished reading, shut the book, and opened her scroll up to the messenger screen. "It's a message from Ruby? What could she be wanting?", wondered Blake as she moved to open the message.

She was stopped short of doing so when her scroll vibrated again. "Another message. It seems that I am quite popular at the moment.", thought Blake to herself as she looked at the newest message. Blake read the message quietly.

It was a short read: "I need to see you in my office. This is important. Do not waste time. – Ozpin"

Without responding to Ruby, Blake collapsed her scroll. She picked up her book and glanced around to make sure she hadn't brought anything else.

* * *

Weiss was enjoying her bedtime tea as she relaxed inside her dorm room. The wonderful silence surrounded her as she tried to decide on a book from a list that had been recommended to her. She had turned in her research paper on dust mechanics. In turn, she received a reasonable grade for her work. Her professor, Glynda Goodwitch, had even handed her a paper with a set of book titles that she advised Weiss to read.

"If you are interested, these books may change how you look at Dust.", thought Weiss to herself as she replayed the short exchange in her mind. Weiss glanced at the cover of one such book. "Quantum Dust Mechanics.", she mused out loud. Weiss set aside the thick, heavy book for a rainy day and looked at the next book in line. "Dust Arts, Aura, and Semblance.", murmured Weiss as she flipped the book open.

Weiss started by reading the book summary printed on the side of the book's cover: "How does Dust truly react when it is used in Dust Arts? Where does Dust go after it is used in a Dust Art? How does the nature between Aura and Dust work? Can one's semblance impact the intensity of Dust Arts? This book is authored with these questions and more in mind. Join the author as she explores the scientific theories and discoveries of Dust Researchers with like-minded researchers."

No sooner than finishing the summary, Weiss heard her scroll begin to make its horrendous chime. Weiss sighed and put down the book that she had decided on reading. When she opened her scroll and read Ruby's message, she felt a small vein pop up on her forehead. "Training? At this time of the night?", spat the heiress. This didn't sit well with Weiss. She knew training was the most important thing for a huntress or huntsman in training.

However, Weiss had been looking forward to this very moment. It was the moment in which her teammates would be doing their own thing until it was close to bed time. She could enjoy the silence with a good book and a cup of tea. Apparently, Ruby had other expectations. Weiss gave a hasty reply: "We've been through a lot this week. You had better have a good reason for this, you dolt."

* * *

Yang enjoyed working on and maintaining her motorcycle. This was undeniable. She had a full scale toolbox loaded down with ratchets, wrenches, screwdrivers, sockets, L-wrenches, and everything else in between for her motorcycle's needs. She had just as many tools as Beacon's garage mechanics did. Sometimes, the mechanics would message her to see if she had a tool they could borrow.

As Yang worked with her hands and tools, her mind wandered back to when she found the first piece that would become the motorcycle she dubbed the Bumblebee. She had started out with just the frame of a motorcycle. Over the time Yang spent at Signal Academy, she gathered together parts for it. The parts themselves were paid with money from her part time job at a mechanic shop. Yang had built the Bumblebee from the ground up, just like Ember Celica.

Yang's mind continued down memory lane as she worked on the Bumblebee. Yang had been wandering through the city with her friends during the weekend when she caught sight of it in the corner of a mechanic shop. It looked like a rusted out bucket of bolts. However, being a hardcore motorcycle fan, Yang recognized it immediately by the frame alone. It took her a lot of haggling with the old man who owned the shop.

When the old man saw that Yang wanted it for herself, he sold it to her on one condition. Yang ran her hand over the side of the engine as she whispered the condition. "Don't ever let it fall apart and love it like you love yourself.", whispered Yang as she felt peace in the way that the smooth metal glided under her hand. Yang stopped working on it when she heard her scroll the annoying chime, signifying a message came in, from the inside of her pocket. The blonde uncomfortably fished the scroll from the tiny pocket that it sat in.

"Evening combat training, Room E-3. We really need it. Rubes", said Yang aloud as she read the message her sister had sent her. "Sorry Rubes. Got the Bumblebee torn apart right now. Little Dragon", said Yang out loud as she typed out her response to Ruby. Yang couldn't help but smile. Ruby's messenger screen name was the nickname their father gave Ruby when she was a child. Like Ruby, Yang had chosen her own childhood nickname for a screen name.

Mere seconds later, Yang heard that same annoying chime that always made her want to smash the scroll. Yang sighed. "Confound it, Rubes. The things I do for you.", said the blonde with a smile. She started to wrap up her maintenance of the Bumblebee.

* * *

Ruby had been sitting on the bench and talking with Belthasar when she heard her scroll give off a chime. It was a sound that she had started to like hearing. After reading the replies and sending one of her own, Ruby was beaming with a smile.

"Everything is set on my end.", said Belthasar as he cast a wry smile at Ruby. Ruby's scroll chimed at her again. Belthasar leaned close to Ruby and read the message over her shoulder. "Rubes? Little Dragon? I don't get it.", said Belthasar in a slightly confused tone. "They're the nicknames that Dad has for me and my sister.", replied Ruby with a reminiscent smile on her face.

Almost immediately, Ruby snapped out of her memories of home. "It's rude to read someone else's private message.", said Ruby as she scolded the young man. Belthasar ran a hand through his short, black hair as he gave Ruby a sheepish grin.

* * *

Blake walked towards the door to the headmaster's office, her mind buzzing with questions as she knocked on the door. "What could the Headmaster want with me?", she thought, not understanding the reason she was summoned to his office. "Ms. Belladonna, you may enter." Due to her heritage, Blake had no problems hearing Ozpin through the solid oak door. Blake opened the door, walked in, and shut it behind her.

"Professor Ozpin, you wished to see me?", asked Blake in an uncertain tone as she walked toward his desk. She stood with her hands clasped together behind her back with her eyes looking straight into Ozpin's eyes. Ozpin sat behind a large oak desk that was littered with paperwork. She noted that Ozpin and she were alone. However, one detail caught her eye.

His hands were interlocked together in front of his face. An envelope sat in front of him on top of the clutter of papers. The letter had a symbol printed on it. It was the symbol Blake was fond of. It was an emblem of a belladonna flower. Blake only knew one person who ever used that flower as a symbol for her, aside from herself.

Blake went slightly pale. "Do you know who sent it?", inquired Ozpin with a knowing tone. Blake nodded. "Adam.", she whispered, eyes wide as she stared at the envelope. "Adam Taurus, Lieutenant Colonel of the White Fang?", stated Ozpin in a questioning but even more knowing manner. Blake swallowed an intangible lump in her throat as she nodded.

"I registered you under a completely false name and even registered you as human. How did he find you?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow as he inquired further. A light bulb lit up in Blake's mind. "The train, we landed on it from the forests of Forever Fall.", she said in a crestfallen tone. "He must have figured that I wouldn't be able to travel far. If he thought of that…" Blake trailed off as the full realization of what the letter implied hit her at the speed of hovercraft.

"The White Fang will try to tie up 'lose ends', I take it?", asked Ozpin. Yet again, Ozpin hit the nail on the head as he watched Blake turn very pale. Her eyes went distant as all the dots connected themselves in her mind.

"HQ will send an Eraser after me. I know too much to be left alone.", she said numbly as her legs gave out beneath her. "They're bold enough to send an assassin here to kill one of my students?", asked Ozpin as his eyebrow raised a bit more. Blake was too far into thought to catch his tone of voice.

"The letter, I have to read it.", stated Blake as she wobbly stood up and made her way to Ozpin's oak desk. Ozpin handed her the letter and watched as she slowly opened it. About a minute went by as Blake silently read the letter. By the time Blake was finished, she was shaking uncontrollably. Blake used Ozpin's desk to help keep her balance, lest her legs betray her again.

"It's worse than I thought. They're sending…Tessa…she's nothing short of a monster.", whispered Blake as she slumped to the floor, still holding onto the desk. Her breathing was quickly becoming shallow as her mind pieced together what would most likely happen. Ozpin was at her side in a flash with a paper bag, knowing what was coming. Blake had started hyperventilating.

Ozpin only said one thing as he handed Blake the paper bag. "Please, breathe in and out of the bag. It will help steady your breathing and pull you out of the anxiety attack." Blake immediately did as she was told, her body shaking uncontrollably. Blake's breathing was beginning to accelerate to unhealthy levels.

Blake felt her legs go numb as her hands began to clench up on their own. She continued breathing from the paper bag. Blake barely felt Ozpin's hand on her shoulder as he began to say various things to help calm down Blake. A few minutes went by as Blake slowly got her breathing under control.

Blake tried to move her fingers but they barely moved from their clenched up position. The tendons in her hands felt cold, like they were made of ice. Her legs were beginning to regain feeling, the prickly sensation causing a few involuntary muscle twitches. "See? Your breathing is back under control and you are fine now.", said Ozpin as he continued to reassure Blake. Blake could still feel a few tears making their way down her cheeks as her body continued to tremble while her lungs were burning with pain.

Blake looked up at him and shook her head as she tried to speak with her unstable breathing trying to interfere. "You do-don't understand. Te-Tessa's semblance-", said Blake as she continued to breath in a shallow, slightly rapid manner. Ozpin silenced Blake with a small hug with one arm as her body continued to tremble.

Though, Ozpin didn't know if Blake's body was shaking from fear or from aftershocks of the anxiety attack. He guessed that it was a mix of both. "I am aware of Tessa's semblance.", said Ozpin as he began to reshape his original plan for dealing with this new threat.

Ozpin released Blake from the small hug. "Keep using the bag. It will help your breathing.", instructed Ozpin as he stood up, the letter in his hand. As he read the letter, a frown began to form on his face. By the time he finished reading the letter, his frown had turned into a grimace that would unnerve even most of his staff at the academy. Ozpin could hear that Blake was still breathing from the paper bag.

The letter was short:

They're sending an agent. Tessa. You aren't safe. I should be there a day after you read this.

Ozpin knew who sent the letter. He continued to watch over Blake as his thoughts shifted to more prevalent matters. "Adam is coming here.", he mused to himself. "After what happened, I will be surprised if he doesn't kill me on sight.", thought Ozpin as he helped a shaky Blake to the chair behind his desk. If he had spoken those two thoughts out loud, his voice would have chilled even the most cold-hearted person to the core.

Then, Ozpin realized something. "The letter could be a ruse. Adam could be the true assassin.", thought Ozpin as he dialed the number for the medical ward. "As much as he changed after the incident, I wouldn't put it past him.", thought Ozpin coldly as he heard the medical ward answer his call. After giving them instructions, he ended the call. As he waited for the medical team to pick up Blake, Ozpin began planning out his actions for unexpected events.

Ozpin knew that he couldn't afford a single mistake this time. He knew that one mistake, one slip-up, was going to cost people their lives. Ozpin had learned a long time ago that the responsibility of being a leader is a heavy burden.

* * *

Ruby and Belthasar were walking towards the meeting place they had set up. There, Ruby planned to talk her team into doing team training against one another. The silence between them was beginning to annoy Ruby. Belthasar had been keen on talking to her and now, he had nothing to say. Searching for something to say, Ruby remembered the first time she met him.

"Hey, Belthasar.", said Ruby as she called out to him. Belthasar glanced at Ruby. "What?", he asked nonchalantly. "Does Si-Sid-", said Ruby until she was quickly cut off by Belthasar. "Her name is Sildra.", replied Belthasar. Ruby was starting to wish she hadn't spoke up but forced herself to ask the question. "Does Sildra really have over seven hundred wins? Hasn't she lost even once?", asked Ruby, nervous about the answer.

Belthasar gave a small laugh. "Goodwitch embellished her record a little to mess with all of you.", replied Belthasar with a smirk as the duo kept walking. Ruby found it hard to believe that her combat professor could be anything other than strict or serious. "So, has she lost any fights?", asked a nervous Ruby in an unsteady voice.

"I handed Sildra her first loss in our second year. It was for her second hundredth win that we fought.", said Belthasar as he started to remember the hellish fight. "Sildra always gives me the hardest battles to win. She's the greatest partner anyone could ever ask for.", continued Belthasar in a wistful tone with a smile on his face. Ruby was listening intently to her peer.

"She pushes everyone around her to do better than they can. If not for Sildra, I wouldn't be anywhere near as good as I am.", said Belthasar with a chuckle as he stopped outside the combat classroom that had been setup for the team meeting and subsequent training. "So, she pushes everyone to excel?", asked Ruby in a hope-filled voice.

Belthasar nodded as he walked into the classroom. Ruby followed him in and realized that the word 'classroom' was merely a formality used to describe the room. "Welcome to training hall E-3.", said Belthasar as he began reliving memories of training with his team.

The room was about the size of the classrooms that her professors held lessons and lectures in. There was nothing inside the room itself except for one corner. In the one corner, Ruby noted there was a chair and large pouch beneath the chair.

"Sildra and I fought all kinds of sparring matches here. Sometimes, we fought against her shadows. Other times, we fought each other.", explained Belthasar as he looked around the room. He remembered a very specific sparring battle. "Would you believe that Sildra confessed her feelings to me in this very room?", asked Belthasar as he sat down against a wall.

Ruby felt a bright, burning red blush cover her face. She immediately turned away from the young man. "I-I uh…uh…well-", stuttered Ruby as she nervously fiddled with the edge of her combat skirt. Belthasar quickly cut off the flustered girl. "Here's a fun fact. After she confessed her feelings, that's the response she got out of me.", said Belthasar with a deep, long laugh.

Ruby still had no idea how to proceed through this conversation. The possibilities of what occurred after the confession wouldn't stop plaguing her mind either. "You…seem to have trouble processing our conversation.", observed Belthasar with a knowing smile and a playful tone. Ruby could only give a nervous laugh. If she had turned around, she would have seen Belthasar blushing almost as hard as she was.

The sound of a chime broke off the conversation. Ruby snapped out of her thoughts and pulled out her scroll. "I think that was for you.", said Ruby, glad to be away from such a topic. Belthasar pulled out his scroll and read the message he had received. "This…Ozpin is calling my team to his office. It's never good when he calls my team in.", grumbled Belthasar.

"I bet Janis got into another fight. The idiot is going to get expelled if he doesn't keep a level head.", explained Belthasar as he got up. At that time, Yang and Weiss opened the door. "Admit it princess, you have no sense of direction", commented Yang as she took a verbal low blow at Weiss. "I told you that I knew where it was but you dragged us around in circles!", exclaimed Weiss.

Ruby had practically forgotten all about her embarrassment when she saw her teammates. "Weiss! Yang!", said Ruby as she happily called out to her teammates. Yang took notice of Belthasar almost immediately. "What's that cocky ass doing here?", quipped Yang as her eye color changed from lilac to red.

"Don't mind me. I was just leaving.", said a grim sounding Belthasar as he gave a dismissive wave with his hand. As Weiss and Yang entered the training hall, Belthasar left without saying anything further.

"Well, that was weird.", observed Yang in a confused tone of voice. Yang walked over to Ruby, discreetly looking her up and down to see if she was hurt. Yang didn't like the idea of her little sister being alone in a room with a much older guy. "Whatever. He gets on my nerves anyway.", commented Weiss with a wave of her hand.

"Ok Rubes, what's this about team training?", asked Yang as she attempted to redirect their focus on why they were there. "I'm curious too.", said Weiss as she gave Ruby slight glare and began tapping her foot. Ruby looked at her teammates, slightly confused. "Where's Blake?", asked Ruby, clearly expecting an answer from someone.

Yang put one finger to her chin as she thought. "I don't remember seeing Blake as Weiss dragged us around half the campus.", said Yang as she tapped her finger against her chin while thinking. Weiss fumed a bit over the low blow that Yang threw at her. "Oh please! You're the one who got us lost to begin with!", retorted Weiss. Try as she might, Weiss couldn't remember seeing Blake anywhere either.

Before the three girls could say anything else, they heard each of their scrolls sound off with a chime. "Oh, that must be Blake.", said Ruby as she pulled out her scroll. Yang laughed. "I bet she got lost reading a book which is more than Weiss can say.", joked Yang, throwing yet another low blow at Weiss's sense of direction. None of them questioned why Blake would message all three of them at once.

Ruby read the message she had received. Weiss felt her annoyance shift to anger. "Ok, fine! I admit it! I didn't know where the classroom was!", yelled Weiss as she turned to fully face Yang, clearly close to reaching her limit with Yang's prodding. Yang just slapped Weiss on the back, sending Weiss stumbling forward before falling to the ground. "See? It feels good to be honest with others.", said Yang with a smile as she immediately pulled Weiss off the ground and into her notorious bear hug.

Ruby read the message a second time. Weiss could have sworn she felt her ribs break in the bear hug. Weiss decided it could have also been her spine cracking. "Let. Go.", gasped Weiss as she was having trouble breathing normally. At that time, the message finally registered in Ruby's mind. Using her semblance, Ruby dashed out of the room. Yang and Weiss simply stared at the door, barely attached to its hinges.

"What was that all about?", wondered Yang as she finally let go of Weiss. Weiss fell to the floor coughing and wheezing. "How does Ruby not die from that brute's unbearable hugs?", thought Weiss as she struggled to catch her breathe. Yang pulled out her scroll and checked the messenger. As Weiss staggered to her feet, Yang put away her scroll.

"We have to go. NOW.", commanded Yang, her eyes back to their red color. As Yang dashed off, Weiss was left bewildered until she read the message on her own scroll. After reading the message, Weiss was running for the medical ward. All three girls kept replaying the message inside their heads. The trio could only wonder what happened to Blake.

It read: Blake Belladonna is being discharged from the Medical Ward. As her teammate, we request that you retrieve her up immediately.

* * *

**Now for some chapter 2 comments from me:**

**Yes, I took the cop-out and skipped team RWBY fighting Flora. Where to start with Flora? Elfin Lied is my favorite anime and Lilium is the opening song. If you caught that, pat yourself on the back. :) I try to pick semblances that truly are unique. In this case, Flora's Telekinesis. Yes, it has a range limit. No, she can't use it indefinitely. When we finally got to find out Phyrra's semblance was magnetism, I realized that semblances can come in ways that allow the user to directly affect the world around them.**

**Also, you'll eventually understand how Flora knew where Blake would be. Here's a hint: Aura.**

**On the books that Weiss was looking at: I chose those titles and the summary to show that Weiss has more than the "normal" interest in Dust. The way I understand Weiss's combat style is that she uses quick, precise movements to pierce her opponent's defense. To augment this style, she uses Dust to force openings in different ways. As I see it, the white Dust is for when Weiss has a sure kill opportunity against a tough opponent.**

**As we saw in the White Trailer, Dust can apparently be used beyond simple elements of fire, ice, energy, etc.. Weiss had used the red Dust to add a large burst of power to Myrtenaster's strike when she blasted back the White Knight's two-handed sword. Yet, we saw no fire come from Myrtenaster. Then, there's the red dust vial that Weiss was shaking in Ruby's direction in Episode 2. When Ruby sneezed, the cloud exploded with the element of fire. Yet again, when Weiss used the red Dust in Myrtenaster in Episode 6 and Ruby messed up Weiss's attack, fire went shooting out of Myrtenaster into an unfortunate tree.**

**My theory is Dust likely uses basic elements but can be used in different ways just as Semblances and their uses differ from person to person.**

**Blake's anxiety attack: For those of you who have never had an anxiety attack, they are nothing to joke about. Your breathing increases to such a rapid rate that your lungs have trouble getting oxygen from the air you breathe in. As your oxygen count falls, the muscles start to experience what I would describe as shock from the beginnings of oxygen deprivation. Muscles need oxygen to work properly. I do experience anxiety attacks from time to time and the one I described Blake having is how the worst ones have gone for me.**

**The question is: What could be so bad about a single assassin that could cause Blake to crumble like that?**

**To put it bluntly, Blake feels certain that her death is going to happen. In the canon world, she doesn't seem to expect something like this to occur. So, I suspect she covered her tracks far better than what I've decided to write. It could also indicate that the White Fang either doesn't hunt down traitors OR Blake wasn't very important to the White Fang. If Blake wasn't important, then does that mean that Adam isn't important to them either? Hopefully, we find out in the second season.**

**As always, if you see a misspelled word(hard to believe but spell check and I don't always catch them) or a word(like there/their/they're) used improperly, please mention it in a review so that I can fix it. In my opinion, proper grammar and spelling makes it much easier for readers to enjoy a story. Not to mention that it makes it easier to read and understand.**

**Random author comment: I stay up way too late sometimes. It's 3am, I wake up at 9am, and start working at 10am! ^.^ Such is my life. :)**


	3. Building and Destroying Walls

**While verifying a few things via episodes, I realized that the student tablets are really called scrolls. -_-; **

**As always, I do look forward to reviews from readers. Please leave a review and let me know what you think? To quote mearfster, writer of Hysteria(RWBY fic),: "Thank you so much for reading and for reviewing. It helps more than most people care to admit."**

**EDIT: Changed a few minor things. ****After realizing a few other minor writing mistakes, I went back and changed a few words. The most notable being Yang's motorcycle. Here' a shout out to AnonymousARK for correcting me on the name of Yang's motorcycle, Bumblebee. XD**

**********I really do want to hear what my readers think of A Legend. Over 400 views and only 1 review doesn't exactly inspire me to have confidence in what I write. It doesn't help me get better at writing either. Granted, the last time I was taught writing skills was over a decade ago...but I digress, I really do want to hear what my readers think about my writing and where they think I'm going with things.**

* * *

Blake, against her will, was in the Medical Ward of Beacon. The staff had almost immediately realized that her school records didn't match up with her heritage. To Blake's surprise, the staff didn't bat an eye over the discrepancy between her records and herself. When Blake asked the staff about it, she had merely been told that everything Ozpin does has a reason behind it. She had also been informed by the staff that they had learned to just go with Ozpin's flow.

Despite being a Faunus with false records, the staff treated her well. After being given a few hours to rest with a nurse popping in every so often, a doctor gave Blake a basic examination over her blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen count. Much to Blake's discomfort, the doctor even examined her ears.

Blake tried to focus on anything but the unnerving feeling of someone touching her ears. Blake felt her ears twitching every so often. "Ms. Belladonna, your ears are in good condition. No sign of mites, dirt, or anything of the sort.", said the young doctor as she pulled back from Blake, having finished her examination.

The doctor pulled off her rubber gloves. Blake watched the young woman discard the rubber gloves in a flip-top trashcan next to the examination bed that Blake was sitting on. After discarding the gloves, the doctor sat at her desk next to the door. "Other than reporting exhaustion following an anxiety attack, you are the picture of perfect physical health.", said the doctor as she began filling out a report on Blake's health.

Blake observed the doctor from head to toe while tying her bow back into place over her ears. The doctor had long brown hair pulled into a low pony tail that started at the top of her neck. At one point, Blake had seen the name tag on the doctor's white lab coat which identified her as Dr. Velma Scarlet. Blake had observed the doctor to only be slightly taller than her. After typing for a few minutes, Dr. Scarlet swiveled her chair around so she could face Blake.

"I've filled out your release paperwork. The receptionist has likely notified your teammates of your immediate release.", said Dr. Scarlet as she leaned back, her arms stretching into the air. Blake could hear places in the doctor's back pop as the doctor smiled at the feeling. Though, Blake wasn't paying attention to that. The thing that caught her attention was that her teammates were being notified of her release from the Medical Ward.

"You told my teammates?", asked Blake as her eyes widened a little, her voice a little uneven. The doctor saw Blake's hand begin trembling a little. Dr. Scarlet raised an eyebrow as she studied Blake's reaction. "Mind you, we can't release your information without your consent. Do they know that you are a Faunus?", kindly asked the doctor as she pointed to Blake's bow, a faint smile on her face.

Blake watched the floor, the last part of her argument with Weiss from about two weeks ago playing through her mind for a moment. "Yes, they know but I can't have them asking questions. If they find out about anything that transpired today, it would be bad for everyone.", explained Blake in an uneven tone, still looking at the floor. Dr. Scarlet folded her arms as she leaned back a little in her chair, continuing to study Blake's reactions.

Dr. Scarlet observed her patient for a moment, her years of experience as an E.R. doctor piecing together a plan that would appease the young girl's teammates without divulging any of her patient's information. "I have a plan…", began Dr. Scarlet with a slight smile on her face.

* * *

Ruby whipped through the corridors of the academy, her semblance allowing her to move like lightning. She knew she left her teammates behind. Ruby felt bad about it but making sure Blake was fine was more important. It didn't matter that Ruby only had a slight idea where the Medical Ward was. Ruby dropped the use of her semblance as she skidded around a corner before dashing off again.

It was a short dash. She came to an abrupt halt, almost tripping over herself. At an intersection in the hallway, there was a small map on the wall. Ruby darted over to it in a flash. "Where is it? Where is it?", whispered Ruby as she scanned the map for her destination. "There! It's nearby. A right, then the first left, and then another right two classrooms down.", said Ruby, trying to quickly memorize her route.

She turned away from the map, dashing toward the next intersection. "I hope Blake is okay. What could have happened?", thought Ruby as she single-mindedly headed for her destination. Using short bursts of her semblance, she whipped around the corner on her right and then around the first left. When Ruby passed the two classrooms and made the left turn she had plotted out on the map, she was practically only a red blur. Ruby reached the Medical Ward.

Ruby tried to stop in time but the poor girl only succeeded in slamming right into the double doors of the Medical Ward. The doors flew open, almost flying off from the hinges due to the impact. A dizzy Ruby staggered through them as she tried to recollect her senses, a few imaginary beowolves chasing each other in a circle around her head. After taking a moment to regain her senses, Ruby found the receptionist. The young man working the receptionist desk was staring slack-jawed at Ruby.

"Miss, ar-are you okay?", asked the receptionist as he came back from the land of being shocked. One moment, he had seen nothing at the double door entrance. The next moment, he had seen Ruby crash into them.

* * *

Blake and Dr. Scarlet were walking down the hall, towards the entrance of the ward, as she went over the doctor's plan again in her head. Blake felt her ears twitch at what sounded like a truck slamming into something solid. Then, she saw the receptionist's jaw drop. Moments later, Blake saw that Ruby was at his counter and making several gestures, some looking almost frantic. Blake felt a small smile form as she heard Ruby's voice.

"Leave it to Ruby to be worried.", thought Blake as she continued walking. Within a few moments, Blake and the doctor had reached the counter. Ruby didn't notice them approach. "I'm just trying to find out what happened to my friend.", said Ruby, her irritation and worry bleeding into her voice. "Ma'am, I can't do anything without a family name.", said the receptionist as he tried to calm Ruby down.

"I take it you're here to pick up your teammate, one Blake Belladonna?", asked Dr. Scarlet with a knowing smile. Ruby turned at the sound of the doctor's voice. "Blake!", exclaimed Ruby as she rushed forward and gave Blake a hug. Almost immediately, Ruby pulled back and began bombarding her teammate with questions. "What happened? Why didn't you tell us? Why are you in the Medical Ward?!", said Ruby as she practically yelled, her voice in a bit higher pitch than normal.

"You can relax Ruby. I'm not hurt or anything. It's just that my ears have been bothering me. So, I had come in to have them looked at.", explained Blake as she motioned towards Dr. Scarlet next to her, hoping the doctor's plan would work. Dr. Scarlet walked up to Ruby as she began her explanation and her plan to help Blake with her teammates' questions.

"Being a Faunus, Blake's ears work a little differently than the ears of a human. Soap, dust, dirt, and water among other things can end up inside her ears. Because of their awkward location, it can be hard for her to keep the inside of her ears clean. So, she came to the staff to have her ears looked at.", explained Dr. Scarlet, having to pause midway in her explanation for a breath of air.

"Oh.", said Ruby as she processed the new information. Ruby came to the realization that her teammate was fine. She immediately gave Blake another hug. "I was worried.", said Ruby with a smile, believing the doctor's lie. Blake felt her heart strings sing a little bit in happiness over the hug but the weight of depression muffled it out almost immediately.

"If she was this upset over me being admitted, then I can't die.", thought Blake as darker thoughts worked their way in. She knew that she couldn't drag her teammates into this battle. To Blake, it would be the same as killing Ruby and the others with her own hands. Blake knew she had agreed to tell her teammates when something major came up but this was something she couldn't draw them into.

As Blake released Ruby from her end of the hug, she saw her other teammates walk through the remains of the front doors of the Medical Ward. "Geez Ruby, what did these doors ever do to you?", asked Yang as she tried not to laugh at Ruby's unintended destruction of school property. Blake watched as Yang and Weiss walked up to her and Ruby.

"She's fine. Her ears were bothering her and-", began Ruby but she was cut off by Weiss, her finger being pointed at Ruby. "You! How could you just leave us? The last time you did that, I was left dangling from the claws of a Nevermore!", ranted Weiss as she glared at Ruby. This information took Dr. Scarlet by surprise. The doctor made a mental note to pull their records and memorize the records. Something in the back of Dr. Scarlet's mind told her that she would be seeing this team a lot in her ward.

"I said to jump…", mumbled Ruby, unable to look at Weiss out of guilt. Blake watched the whole exchange with a fond smile as Yang walked up to her. "So, you good?", asked Yang with a curious look. Blake only nodded in return. "A few months ago, she still had trouble talking with her friends.", said Yang with a wistful look and happy tone of voice.

Blake turned to look at Yang with a raised eyebrow. "My little sister is growing up.", said Yang, the wistful look giving way to a happy smile. "Not all siblings get to be a part of something like that.", pointed out Blake as she watched Weiss and Ruby talk about the team's initiation day, the talking being done mostly by Weiss. Yang nudged Blake. "You're a part of it too.", said Yang as she smiled at Blake. When Blake heard that, it only strengthened her resolve not to die.

Dr. Scarlet had seen many teams come and go through her ward but this team struck her as something different, almost special. The feeling reminded her of when she and her husband had adopted a young faunus orphan, despite not being faunus themselves.

The doctor decided to break up the small argument for she was tired and could hear the coffee pot in the lounge calling her name. "Ok, that's enough. Beacon may accept only the best but we still get injured students from time to time.", said Dr. Scarlet as she scolded Ruby and Weiss for being a little on the loud side.

After ushering out the team of girls, Dr. Scarlet leaned against the receptionist counter and looked at her husband. "Well Rupert, what did you think about those girls?", asked the doctor with a smile. Like the doctor, the young man watched the whole exchange between the team of girls. Rupert leaned back in his chair and looked at his wife. "Well Velma, how should I say it? There's something different about them.", said Rupert as he closed his eyes, trying to put his finger on what was different.

"I think they're just like our daughter, each special in their own way.", said Velma as she watched the team fade away into the darkness of the night that had begun to blanket the hallway connected to the Medical Ward. Rupert stood up and started to leave the front counter. "I'll take a cup of coffee too.", said Velma, knowing where he was heading. Rupert chuckled as he headed for the lounge.

* * *

"All I am saying is a little more communication is needed instead of just zipping off.", said Weiss in an oddly patient tone. "That's what I was hoping to do with some training.", muttered Ruby, not being able to retort since she knew Weiss was largely correct in her criticism.

Yang and Blake just hung back and watched the sight unfold before them as the team made its way back to the dorm. Blake could hear what she thought was rain off in the distance. "It seems a storm is coming.", observed Blake, her heritage allowing her to slightly see the dark clouds moving in against the black sky.

This observation completely derailed the near one-sided conversation that Ruby and Weiss were having. "Will it rain?", asked a hopeful Ruby, her face lighting up. Blake nodded, much to Ruby's delight. "I think I can hear it raining.", said Blake as she looked out the window, scanning for the source of the sound she was hearing. When Yang stopped walking, the other girls turned around to see Yang with a sheepish grin on her face.

"I completely forgot to put the Bumblebee back together.", said Yang with a nervous laugh. Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What is this Bumblebee that you are talking about?", asked Weiss cautiously, entirely unsure about what Yang was talking about.

"Yang has a motorcycle.", said Ruby offhandedly with a smile as she gazed out the hallway window to watch the storm coming their way. "I'll be up late so let me sleep in until noon?", asked Yang as she turned around and started heading for the garage.

By the time the three girls got back to the dorm, the rain had already started coming down. It was a heavy rain that was coming down, almost like a spring rain that was long overdue. Ruby happily bounded over to the window and opened it, much to Weiss's annoyance.

"Ruby, close the window or else everything will get drenched.", grumbled Weiss as she set about getting ready for bed. "But Weiss, I love watching the rain.", said Ruby, a slight whine tingeing her voice as she pulled her hood over her head.

"Ruby, I do not want to wake up and find myself and half of my bed drenched in rain.", said Weiss as she continued to object to the open window. Ruby sighed and turned towards Weiss. "The rain…it reminds me of when Yang and Mom used to read to me.", said Ruby, the sadness in her voice not going unnoticed by Weiss nor Blake.

Now it was Weiss's turn to sigh. "Fine. Just don't fall asleep with the window open.", said Weiss, all objections to Ruby's actions being dropped as old memories tried to gain Weiss's focus as she eased into her bed.

Blake watched as Ruby climbed on top of the small dresser and sat with her legs crossed, watching the rain. Blake finished getting ready for bed and stopped by the bookcase next to her bed. After stopping for a moment to choose a book, she sat in a chair at the team's study table. Blake took a moment to light a match for lighting the candle that sat in the middle of the table. Then, Blake heard Ruby's voice.

"Hey Blake, can I ask you something?", inquired Ruby, the sad tone replaced by one of melancholy. "Go ahead.", replied Blake as she watched Ruby from behind. "If Faunus can see in the dark, then why do you light a candle for reading?", asked Ruby as she turned her body enough to look over her shoulder at Blake. "Sometimes, somebody will wake up. The candle gives them light if they need to get out of bed.", responded Blake with a smile as Ruby locked eyes with her, returning Blake's smile with her own smile.

Ruby turned back around to watch the rain. Blake watched her team leader for a moment longer, thinking about what Ruby had said about the rain. Then, Blake remembered her conversation with Yang about how Ruby was growing up. "Ruby, would you like me to read to you?", asked Blake, unsure of what Ruby would say. Ruby turned back around to look at Blake again.

"It's called 'The Knight in Rusty Armor'. It's the first book that I ever owned.", said Blake as she continued to smile at Ruby. Ruby smiled and nodded. A look of happiness seemed to shine in her eyes as she turned back towards the rain. It was something she had always done as a child when her family would read to her on a rainy day. "This book was given to me by someone very important to me.", said Blake with a fond smile as she slowly ran a finger over the cover before opening her prized book, taking note of the initials written in the corner of the first page.

As Ruby watched the clouds, she listened to the sound of Blake reading quietly with the rain for background noise. After a little while, Ruby lost track of everything as she was pulled into the story of a knight who had closed off her heart from everyone around her. When Ruby heard a sound that wasn't the rain or Blake's voice, it snapped her out of the story's world. As Ruby turned around to find the source of the sound, she saw Weiss taking a seat close to Blake.

"Sorry for disturbing the mood. I couldn't sleep and the story is interesting.", said Weiss as she laid out some paper and a few pencils from seemingly nowhere. Weiss wouldn't admit it easily but the scarce few memories of her mother telling her stories before bedtime were also keeping her awake. As Blake picked up where she left off in the story, Ruby watched Weiss begin to draw. Ruby shifted her position to where she was leaning her back against the window frame. As Blake continued reading, Weiss would continue to draw and sketch.

As the story went on, Ruby could tell the knight in the story was slowly realizing and fixing her mistakes. From time to time, Ruby could make out parts of the sketches and drawings that Weiss had finished. To Ruby, it looked as if Weiss was drawing and sketching things from the story. Ruby would drift in and out of the story's realm, her focus on the story only broken for a second by the sound of drawing paper being moved around. For Ruby, it had been a long time since she had been able to sit, relax, and listen to a story.

The girls didn't know how much time had passed since Blake started reading. Ruby felt a sense of contentment and paid little attention to the world around her as she listened to the story. Weiss was absorbed into her drawings as she too listened to Blake reading out loud. Blake recited the pages as she compared herself to the knight. Like Blake, the knight had built armor, in a sense, around their heart and had refused to let anyone into their heart. Each of the girls had lost themselves in the story in their own way up to the very end of the book.

"Wow Blake, that was a really good story.", said Yang, much to everyone's surprise. "Wah! Yang, where did you come from?!", yelped Ruby quickly as she flinched and almost fell out the window, only to be grabbed by Blake. Yang jumped up from where she had been sitting on Blake's bed and reached out to help pull her little sister back into the dorm.

Weiss had jumped at the unexpected sound of Yang's voice, her drawing hand leaving her drawing marred by a deeply ingrained line as a result of the girl being surprised. Weiss had started to get up and help Ruby but decided it was unnecessary as her teammates had already reached her partner. She was now studying the unintended line and wondered if it could be erased from her artwork.

"Well Sis, I got the Bumblebee put back together and sneaked into the room. I thought everyone would be asleep since it's almost three in the morning.", said Yang as she started gathering a change of clothes. This earned Yang a raised eyebrow from Weiss and Blake. "What? I forgot to get a change of clothes for the shower afterwards.", said Yang with a sheepish grin as she motioned at her clothes. The oil and grease stains could be seen on Yang's clothes even in the dim candlelight.

"Yet, you stopped to listen to the story.", commented Blake as she eyed the grease, oil, and grime that stained Yang's arms and hands. Ruby saw that Blake had an amused look on her face and Ruby felt herself beginning to smile. She hadn't seen Blake open up to the team like this before. Most of the time, Blake was just around them without much to say or add to their conversations unless it pertained to classes. "Maybe Blake is finally ready to trust us.", thought Ruby as she remembered the awful argument that had occurred between Blake and Weiss.

"Well, it was interesting.", replied Yang as she gathered a set of undergarments to go with her bedtime clothes. Ruby realized she hadn't had her shower before bed and began to gather up a change of bedtime clothes. Ruby didn't pay attention to the conversation that her friends and sister were having as she quickly gathered her clothes. She was simply happy to see her friends enjoying each other's company.

When Ruby looked up, she saw Yang heading for the door with clothes tucked under her arm. "I'm going with her", said Ruby as she closed the open window before chasing after her sister.

* * *

Blake had gathered up her clothes from earlier and put them in the hamper. Out of curiosity, she glanced at her tablet and cringed when she saw that it was currently just past three in the morning. "It would explain my body's desire to yawn.", thought Blake as she fought back the urge to yawn. She started to head towards her bed when she heard Weiss's voice.

"Blake, may I ask you something?", politely asked Weiss as she set down her eraser, having given up on removing the deep line. Weiss had waited for Yang and Ruby to leave the room before asking the question that she had wanted to ask. It was a question that she had been wondering since the group had got back to the room. It was also a discussion that she wanted to have privately with Blake.

Blake hesitated for a moment. She had noticed how her team treated her no different after hearing a little of her past. However, she was still afraid of what questions they would ask and their reactions to her answers. Blake knew the things she had done. Now, she regretted her past actions.

Weiss immediately noticed Blake's hesitation and decided to just get it over with. "Why do you persist in wearing that bow when we're in the dorm and it's just us?", asked Weiss, the tone seeming neutral to her. Blake let out an inward sigh of relief. She had expected Weiss to ask if she had made an assassination attempt on anyone in her family, the family's company, or any other difficult question about her past.

"I wear it more out of habit than anything.", replied Blake as she pulled back the covers of her bed, hoping Weiss would leave it at that. Much to Blake's unhappiness, the heiress refused to be satisfied with her answer. She saw Weiss cross her arms over her chest as Weiss gave her a raised eyebrow accompanied by "I don't buy it" look.

"You mean that you wear it more as a mask than anything else", said Weiss, her face and tone unchanging as she posed her second question as a statement. Blake only gave Weiss a blank, unreadable expression before she slid under the covers. "If you don't be careful, the mask will become who you are.", warned Weiss as she gathered up her various pencils and artwork, stowing them away in the bottom drawer of her dresser.

Weiss understood why Blake built up her walls. Blake was still wary of getting hurt by rejection from her team, the people she saw as friends. Weiss could only see Blake reading to Ruby as a shaky first step in opening up to them. She knew this conversation would likely push Blake beyond her comfort zone but Weiss had already committed to the conversation by asking her first question.

"If you don't be yourself, eventually you forget who you are and what you really believe in.", spoke Weiss, memories surfacing unbidden in her mind. After she finished putting away her pencils and art, she turned around to face Blake. Blake still hadn't moved from her spot under the covers.

Weiss played her final card to continue the conversation. She made her way over to Blake's bed and sat down on the edge. As she expected, Blake turned to face her. "You aren't going to let me sleep, are you?", cautiously asked Blake. Blake heard everything Weiss had said and it left her feeling more than a little unnerved. Weiss smiled and slowly reached out to Blake's bow.

Blake couldn't help but flinch when Weiss's fingers brushed her bow. Weiss didn't bother stopping. She gently untied and removed Blake's bow. "It has to be uncomfortable, wearing a bow over your ears.", commented Weiss as she set the ribbon on the bed cover. Blake's gaze drifted anywhere but at Weiss. "I don't wear it because I want to.", said Blake, her voice slightly uneven.

"It's a shame, really. Your ears really are kind of cute.", said Weiss as she smiled. She could see Blake was uncomfortable by her actions and words. "Don't tell Ruby I said that.", hastily amended Weiss, knowing her hyper leader well.

"Weiss, why are you doing this?", asked Blake, her voice becoming a bit more unsteady as she tried to figure out Weiss's motive for all of this. Weiss sighed as she quickly organized her thoughts. Weiss knew her responses would either bring Blake out of her shell a bit more or make her retreat from the team again.

"Blake, I see a little bit of myself in you.", said Weiss as she gave Blake a soft smile, her tone being one of warmth. Weiss studied Blake's reaction with care. The way Blake's attention snapped to her told Weiss that she had surprised Blake. As Blake's eyes widened a little, Weiss could see that Blake was unsure of what to make of where this conversation was going.

"We wear a mask to protect ourselves for different reasons, naturally, but it still hurts.", softly stated Weiss as she remembered how her father, even when she was a child, expected her to act in a manner 'befitting one of the Schnee name'. "Doesn't it?", asked Weiss, her question acting as a prod to get a response from Blake.

Blake began to understand what Weiss was really saying and began to feel her eyes misting up. She knew Weiss was trying, in her own way, to say she understood the pain of being forced to keep people at arm's length while looking and acting a certain way.

Their reasons were different but the action resulted in a similar feeling. Blake also understood that Weiss was trying to tell her that she accepted her as a friend. Blake found she was nodding in confirmation to Weiss's question as a single tear ran unbidden down her face.

Blake's mind flashed back to her 'conversation' with Ozpin earlier in the day. Then, her mind flashed back to when she saw Weiss for the first time after letting it slip that she was a Faunus and had been a member of the White Fang. Then, Blake thought about the conversation she had with the headmaster in the Medical Ward. Blake pushed back the covers to get up and retrieve her tablet.

Blake didn't want to involve her friends in her problems. However, she also wanted to believe in her friends. She wanted to believe in their strength abilities.

* * *

Ozpin was spending yet another night being up late. The semester was almost over and he had the second semester budget to plan out. With a wide variety of weapons that used an even wider array of ammunition and dust, requisitioning the appropriate amount of supplies to keep his students combat ready was a large task in itself. Unfortunately for Ozpin, that was only a fifth of the planning and balancing of the budget.

It didn't help that the Vytal Festival was about to begin either. While the festival was something he enjoyed for the varied activities that one be a part of, it also required a great deal of planning and working with the tournament sponsors over a great number of details. Then, there was the filing of paperwork for his students to even participate in the tournaments all together. His workload always magnified by a factor of five when the festival came around.

Ozpin leaned back in his chair and sipped on his coffee cup filled with lukewarm coffee, much to his disgust. Coffee seemed to lose its appeal if it wasn't hot. He also preferred his coffee to be strong in flavor and rich in aroma. To Ozpin, coffee didn't just keep him awake. Coffee, the kind he preferred, seemed to soothe his very soul.

His short break from the second semester budget plan was cut short by his administrative tablet giving off the lovable jingle that he handpicked for the academy's entire tablet stock. "That must be Glynda looking to pressure me into finishing the budget by tomorrow afternoon.", thought Ozpin with a smile as he picked up his tablet. To his surprise, it wasn't a message from Glynda but a student.

When he had read the message, he felt his smile grow a bit more. "So, you want your team to know what's going to happen?", mused Ozpin as he got up to get rid of the disgusting coffee and replace it with a fresh cup. He made his way to his personal coffee maker as he easily rearranged his battle plans for the future.

After quickly downing the remaining coffee in his cup, he refilled the cup and headed towards the window that overlooked the front grounds of the academy. "To place your trust and life in the hands of people that you've only recently met…Blake, you certainly have changed in the last six months from how you used to be.", stated Ozpin aloud to nobody at all.

Ozpin walked back to his desk to retrieve his tablet once more. "It will likely be a bit much but I would feel better about this if I had an old friend at my side.", thought Ozpin as he typed a message to a person that he had trusted his life to on many occasions. They were the sort of occasions where he would have died if he hadn't. After sending the message, Ozpin walked back to the window he had been standing at a few moments ago.

It was then that Ozpin noticed a dark figure slowly walking towards the academy from its outer perimeter, near the hovership docks. Ozpin deduced that it could only be one of two people. It could only be the academy's expected 'guests'. Ozpin sighed and gave a mental apology to Glynda. It seemed that the budget would have to wait. Ozpin had a guest to greet.

* * *

An older man sat at a table, blindfolded. His hands moved with a precise dexterity that could only come from years of experience. The soft sounds of metal sliding against metal could be heard as he assembled his beloved weapon after doing routine maintenance.

As he worked at putting together an extension of himself, he realized something. None of his students were even remotely familiar enough with their weapons to perform maintenance like this. Sure, his students had designed and built their weapons but they weren't intricately acquainted with their weapons.

They hadn't had enough time to learn all the little quirks of their own weapons. His students had yet to even begin to understand just what their weapons represented to professional hunters and huntresses. To him, weapons were not just tools used for training, self-defense, or even for killing Grimm. Like his weapon, they were a personification of who they were as people, much like their semblances.

Midway through reassembling his weapon, the man heard his tablet beep three times in rapid succession. "Ozpin…", he whispered with a smile as he reached out and picked up his tablet with ease, despite the blindfold. The man removed his blindfold and viewed the message. His smile quickly faded and became a frown framed in by an intense set of eyes.

"The White Fang is moving, are they? They have no idea who they've picked to be their opponents, do they Ozpin?", mused aloud the older man. The man quickly reassembled his scythe and gathered up a few extra clips of ammo. He knew that he was going to need them. When he was done with his preparations, he scribbled a hasty note on the chalk board and grabbed his cloak off the rack on the way out of his classroom.

* * *

**I had struggled and struggled for almost a week to write the first 1,000 words for this chapter. After hearing "Wings" from RWBY's soundtrack, I found it on Youtube and the majority of the chapter wrote itself as I listened to "Wings". Literally, I wrote around 2,400 words in a single sitting with that being the only song playing for about 2 hours. Who can tell what part of the chapter was influenced by Wings?**

**Afterwards, I took a bit of time to think about how I wanted specific parts of this chapter to flow. After re-reading Chapter 2, I noticed the characters don't seem to "flow" as well as they do in the first chapter. It took some thinking before I realized that I didn't proofread and rewrite it accordingly like I did the first chapter. -_-; I practically uploaded chapter 2 when it was "done"…shame on me. :/ **

**If the readers think I should rewrite Chapter 2 so it flows better, I will do so. So, leave a review and let me know what you think! Observations and criticism is also appreciated. :)**

**Also, the readers can blame Infinity Blade 3 for a LARGE part of the time that it took me to get this chapter out. :) If you have an iDevice, I would suggest looking into the series if you enjoy RPGs that test your reactions.**

**Random author note: The Knight in Rusty Armor is a small short story injected into a webcomic called Go Get a Roomie. The webcomic is about a lovable free-spirited woman and the people she meets. I highly recommend reading it if you enjoy a new perspective on all kinds of things.**


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